For those too tired or too lazy:
The MEarth exoplanet survey has nabbed a rocky super-Earth transiting its host star just 41 light-years away from Earth.
A “rocky super-Earth” orbiting a cool nearby star may hold conditions suitable for life, writes Andrew Masterson.
Newly discovered ‘second Earth’ LHS 1140b
Brave new world is larger than Earth and has its own atmosphere, which means it could be home to alien life
LHS 1140 is an M dwarf star close to the Sun with a rocky planet, LHS 1140b, orbiting it. The planet is a super-Earth in a habitable zone and transits the star. This allows its atmosphere to be studied. The mass of LHS 1140b is 6.7 ± 1.8 times Earth's and its radius is 1.4 ± 0.1 times as large, giving it a density roughly 2.3 ± 0.6 times that of Earth.
The orbit of LHS 1140b is nearly circular with a radius of 0.09 AU. LHS 1140b orbits and transits the star every 25 days. The star LHS 1140 is 39 light years away. It is over 5 billion years old and has 15% of the mass of the Sun. LHS 1140's rotational period is 130 days. No flares have been observed.
